Monthly Archives: July 2014

Our Baby Essentials

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There are a few things that we’ve started using since having Claire that we absolutely can’t live without. Some we’ve had since the beginning, and some we just started using last week, but they’re all essentials at this point! We thought it would be helpful to share.

baby_essentials

 

Skip Hop Alphabet Zoo Activity Gym: Claire has been loving this activity gym lately. When she was first born, we would lay her down and she would fall asleep on it. Now that she’s interacting more with stuff, she’ll swat at the animals and grab onto them. It’s so fun to watch her play with the animals! We also put her down on this when we practice tummy time.

BabyBjorn Bouncer Balance Soft & Wooden Toy: We bought this last week after I read the EatLiveRun blog and saw that she loved using it for her son. I’m so glad we did!! It’s super pricey but we used gift cards to purchase it and it’s so worth it. It’s really lightweight so I can pick it up with one hand while holding Claire and move it to wherever I need it in the house. Cooking breakfast used to be impossible but the other morning I was able to cook oatmeal while Claire happily sat in this bouncer and spun around the wooden toys. She LOVES the wooden toys!

Baby Nursing Mobile App: I’m very forgetful so this app has been a lifesaver! Without it, I wouldn’t remember which breast I last fed Claire on or for how long. It’s helpful to have this app at doctor’s appointments so when the doctor asks how long she normally feeds or how many diapers she typically has, I can just open this app and tell him. I also use it to track how much I’ve pumped.

Tommee Tippee Pacifiers: Someone gave these to use as a baby shower gift (to whoever that was, thank you!!) and Claire loves them. We have a few other brands and we’ve tried the Wubbanub (a pacifier with stuffed animal attached) but these ones are the only ones she likes.

Baby Einstein Octoplush: This guy is Claire’s best friend. CJ got it from Babys R Us a couple weeks ago and she LOVES it. It sings when you squeeze his head and, when you squeeze a tentacle, it says a different color. It also can be changed to French and Spanish so she can learn a few other languages! My only complaint is that the music can’t be set to repeat, because she loves the songs and I have to keep squeezing him over and over again. Oh well, I’m happy to do it to see her adorable smile.

MobyWrap Modern: I already talked about this in a previous post but this was SO convenient when we were flying to Vermont.

Halo Sleepsack Swaddle: One of the moms in my mom’s group suggested this when I told her that Claire didn’t like being swaddled because she wanted her hands free and I’m so thankful I got it!! She loves sleeping with her arms above her head and she’s been much happier since we started using it.

Medela Double Electric Breastpump: It goes without saying why this is an essential. Everyone told me this was the brand to get and I love it… well as much as I can love a breastpump. Who enjoys having to clean all the supplies every single time?!?!? Not me. 🙂 Oh and for those of you who don’t already know this, check with your insurance on whether or not they pay for breastpumps. Mine was covered 100%. Thanks to my cousin for telling me that before we ordered ours!!!

Gerber Burp Cloths: We can’t leave the house, let alone walk to the other side of the house, without one of these. Obviously, babies spit up, and these are the burp cloths that we use. They are super cheap and come in a pack of 10 so we never run out of them before it’s time to do laundry.

What items can you not live without? It’s always interesting to see what baby stuff people find and fall in love with! 

2 Months Old!

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2 Months Old!

It really feels like yesterday that we had the one month photoshoot for Claire and here I am writing her two month update. People tell you it goes by fast but, seriously, it really does. Well, to be honest, the first two weeks were the longest two weeks of my life but after that, time flew by. Every day we fall more in love with Claire and are so amazed that we brought such a beautiful little life into this world.

What’s Claire like at two months old now? Well…

  • Weight: I haven’t weighed her since last Tuesday but she was 10 pounds 8 ounces then. I’m guessing she’s around 11 pounds now.
  • Loves: Standing. She can’t stand on her own, obviously, but she loves when we hold her up to stand. She’s able to look around more, stare at her feet, and feel like a big girl. If we try to lay her down when she’s in the mood to stand, she is not happy about it.
  • Hates: Madonna music. Seriously, I’m not kidding. When it comes on the radio, she immediately starts crying and when we change the song, she stops. It is SO hilarious!
  • Talents: Projectile spit up. When we were about to leave our B&B for my niece’s wedding, we placed her in her carseat, tucked her in with a nice blanket, and were about to pick up the carseat to head to the car when what it seems like a garden-hose-like force of spit up flew out of her mouth. We were surprised but the look on her face was priceless. CJ and I immediately started laughing. She has the best facial expressions.
  • Sleeping: Not much has changed in this area. She still wakes up once in the middle of the night around 3:00/4:00am and then again around 7:00/8:00am. We’re lucky it’s not more often but I’m sure it will happen occasionally when she’s going through a growth spurt.
  • Other Random Facts:
    • She gets overwhelmed when around a bunch of people that are ooogling over her. She stays calm while it’s happening but by the end of the day she hits a sensory overload and then the infamous “witching hour” that we’ve heard of begins. We try to keep visits from people pretty short so she doesn’t get too overwhelmed.
    • She’s the most smiley and talkative during her 3:00/4:00am feeding and first thing in the morning. It makes waking up in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning so worth it and I look forward to those little smiles.
    • She’s starting to enjoy her activity play mat and is starting to swat at the toys hanging above her. It’s so fun to see her entertaining herself with toys.

Daddy daughter time

Other than that, I think it goes without saying that we are head over heels in love with our little girl.

In other news, Claire has gained a new furry best friend named Zoe. Pictures to come soon. 🙂

4th of July Travels

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I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Ours was quite a whirlwind and I think it’s going to take us a few days to recoup. On Thursday night, we took a redeye flight to Vermont (with one layover) which was Claire’s first time on an airplane. She did an amazing job and got her first set of wings from the flight attendant! We’ll definitely have to put those in her baby book. Now, to find where I threw them in my carry-on. 😉

She was amazing on the flights and slept through most of them. We used a Moby Wrap to carry her through the security lines and on the flights. We are so glad that we bought one before leaving on Thursday because it was such a huge help! We got so many comments from people telling us how cool it was on the flights. We have two other baby carriers but Claire is not the biggest fan of them right now; she seems to feel claustrophobic in them. The Moby Wrap is great for skin-to-skin contact and she loves it because it’s kind of like being swaddled mixed with cuddling with us. The facilitator of my mom’s group recommended it and I’m so glad she did.

Flight attendant: "Are you taking a selfie?" Me: "Yes but it's because we have to document our baby's first flight." Flight attendant: "OMG there's a baby in there!!"

Flight attendant: “Are you taking a selfie?” Me: “Well, we have to document our baby’s first flight!” Flight attendant: “OMG there’s a baby in there!!”

We flew back yesterday and have been resting ever since. The last flight was pretty long so I had to feed her a couple times and she was awake for half of that flight. She spent that time taking in the sights around her and was very smiley. She did get upset at one point because I think she got overwhelmed with the flight attendants ooogling over her cuteness. We were able to calm her down and she fell asleep soon after. She wasn’t bothered by the air pressure but I think that was due to me either feeding her right before, her sleeping, and/or sucking on her pacifier during each takeoff and landing. People sitting around us told us that she was the best baby they’ve ever flown with. We’re so lucky that she did so well.

Oh and apparently, Delta changed their preboarding policies and, on the last flight, they wouldn’t let us preboard because we didn’t have a stroller. What kind of policy change is that!?!? We were so mad. Boarding early with a newborn helps so much because it gives us time to get situated, change her diaper if needed, and feed her if she’s hungry. I honestly don’t understand why they would change their policy to only allow babies that have a stroller to board early but it’s dumb. We are definitely going to send them a complaint letter for that.

Other than that, our weekend was so fun. We went on a cruise on Lake Champlain on Friday night to kick off the wedding weekend celebrations which was amazing. The scenery was gorgeous and it was so great for Claire to meet some of our East Coast family members.

Spirit of Ethan Allen on Lake Champlain

Spirit of Ethan Allen on Lake Champlain

The following day, my niece got married overlooking a beautiful bay at a state park in Vermont. It was the perfect day for a wedding – it wasn’t muggy and the scenery was breathtaking. Not to mention, the bride was so stunning that I got goosebumps when I first saw her. Congratulations Alli and Ben! You are the sweetest couple and we’re so happy for you both.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Kingsland Bay State Park

Kingsland Bay State Park